NC voter audit suggests widespread fraud

RALEIGH, NC (AP) -- The North Carolina Board of Elections is investigating hundreds of cases where voters appear to have cast 2012 ballots in two states.

Elections Director Kim Strach told lawmakers Wednesday that her staff has identified 765 registered North Carolina voters whose first names, last names, birth dates and last four digits of their Social Security numbers appear to match information for voters in another state.

Strach said there could also be about 50 people statewide who died before election day but were recorded as casting a ballot. In several past cases, instances of so-called zombie voters turned out to be the result of clerical errors.

Republicans immediately touted the preliminary report as evidence they were justified in approving sweeping elections changes last year that include voters presenting photo ID at the polls.

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It has always amazed me that when I go to vote that no one asks to see my id to make sure that I am the one that is voting. If I wanted, I could go in the morning and give my name and address and vote the way I wanted to and that afternoon go and give a neighbors name and address and vote, then come back at night and do the same with a different neighbor's name and address. All they do is put a check next to your name. I am sure this goes on all the time and there is no way to catch who's vote is wrong.

I would like to see an id requested when you go to vote so that they are checking the correct name off the list. I don't understand why this is not required, if you are too afraid to get an id, what are you hiding????

There are a few pieces of information missing before we apply the stamp of "widespread" to the phrase "widespread fraud." For example, what election outcome did these votes impact? Was this the results for one county election, or statewide? Let's say this applied to the statewide results: If statewide and applying the number of problem ballots (765) to number of total votes cast (4,505,372), then this 0.1% (one-tenth of one percent) of all ballots cast in the general election. If that is the case, then the term "widespread" is a bit hyperbolic and sensationalist. Reporters for this should seek to clarify how "widespread" this is.

50 dead people voted ?
So whats the big deal get a free picture ID and vote and stop voting after you are declared dead or at least keep getting your picture ID replaced as your appearance changes,stay away from gun ranges and wait for the Apocalypse.
All kidding aside,
This is a smallish number in national politics but in local politics with such low turn outs this can have devastating consequences on the process and invalidates our unalienable rights.
For example the town of Carolina beach mayoral election hinged on around ten votes hopefully all of them were alive and voted in person but who knows? We could have been duped!

There's nothing to stop blacks, students or poor people from voting. If you are referring to voter ID, that won't stop them from voting either, as long as they are properly registered and qualified to vote.

In Florida alone, it's estimated there are 180,000 plus illegal voters
That translates into about 1.65% of Fla 11 million voters

In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that up to 3 percent of the 30,000 individuals called for jury duty from 'VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS' over a two-year period in just one U.S. district court were not U.S. citizens. While that may not seem like many, just 3 percent of registered voters would have been more than enough to provide the winning presiden­tial vote margin in Florida in 2000.

Citizenship is and should be a basic requirement for voting. Every vote cast by a non-citizen, whether an illegal alien or a resident alien legally in the country, dilutes or cancels the vote of a
citizen and thus disenfranchises him or her. To dismiss such stolen votes debases one of the most important rights of citizens.

In 2005, Arizona passed Proposition 200, which requires anyone registering to vote to provide "sat­isfactory evidence of United States citizenship," such as a driver's license, a birth certificate, a pass­port, naturalization documents, or any other docu­ments accepted by the federal government to prove citizenship for employment purposes. The state issues a "Type F" driver's license to individuals who are legally present in the United States but are not citizens. Since Proposition 200 took effect, 2,177 non-citizens applying for such licenses have attempted to register to vote. Another 30,000 have been denied registration because they could not produce evidence of citizenship.

Some areas use volunteers that simply check or cross off names of voters from a list when they vote. It is entirely possible to check or cross off the wrong name... especially if it's a common name (say bob smith) that might exist ten times on the rolls.

There is still a question of why the same person is also on the voting rolls in another state. But they may have recently moved and not been taken off the voting roll in the old state.

Long story short, there is a chance that some of these 765 didn't vote twice... but it should be a very small minority.